Abandoned kittens get second chance at life

Kittens and cats abandoned by their owners will be given a second chance for a loving home at a cattery’s open day tomorrow.

Edwina Coda, manager of the Comfy Cats Cattery, is running the re-homing event to give people a chance to see around 18 cats left at Shaftesbury Waye, Hayes.

Ms Coda said: “There is a shortage of people to the increasing number of cats we find. We wanted people to see all the cats in one place, rather than different places.”

Cat Protection Hillingdon co-ordinator Janet Campbell cited two cats, 16 and 17 years old, abandoned and fed by an elderly lady since last Christmas when the owner moved away and these cases are multiplying.

Ms Coda said: “Possible reasons could be the effects of the recession with people moving out of their homes and leaving cats behind, or rising costs of keeping pets.

“It is a real shame because they are wonderful animals that deserve to be with a loving family.”

The open day comes after an RSPCA appeal in August for potential cat owners to come forward after they were trying to find homes for more than double the number of abandoned cats than this time last year.

There are more than 20 cats at the RSPCA Hillingdon, Slough, Windsor, Kingston and District Branch. Among them are a litter of kittens saved by a waste collector who untied a black bag about to be thrown into the rubbish lorry after he saw something moving in it.

Irene Hansford, chairman of the branch, said cats are cared for at the RSPCA cattery in Brokengate Lane, Denham: “Cats are so cheap to look after compared to dogs, but when you have a lot of new born cats to look after people find they cannot cope and give them to us.”

She added: “The question we are asking ourselves is, are there 100 homes out there? We have more than 100 cats to re-house – it has doubled from a year ago. A high percentage are black cats and kittens which people don’t seem to want.”

Re-home a cat: the open day is at Comfy Cats Cattery, 3 Shaftesbury Waye, HAYES on Sunday, October 16, 12-3pm.